


Coming To Senses

by Lokisgame



Series: To have and to hold [22]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokisgame/pseuds/Lokisgame
Summary: He smells like blue, she sees red, they taste like chili chocolate and Chinese.





	

He comes to the office each morning smelling nice. This is her best memory of him, how her day starts with fresh blue notes and finishes with deep mellow navy, his cologne just a faint memory. Evening is the time when she can put her arms around him, burry her nose in his neck and breath him in. That time of day when the quality of the silence between them changed, became more comfortable and maybe even a bit romantic?  
No one cared about hiding long glances. Smiles were open and easy, when in the privacy of their homes they could be this version of themselves. Free from bureau restrictions and policies. When she thought about how their feelings were always so close to the surface, the fact that they managed to ignore the depth of them for so long baffled her. If they would be as thorough in investigating their feelings, as they were in investigating ghosts, fluke men and E.B.E's they would be married by the end of their second year together. But it wasn't the time for thoughts like that, too bright and too early. She breathed in the blue.

Mulder wanted to be a good friend to her, he knew it was something he needed to work on. After all the times he ditched her to pursue his own lines of investigation and came back with flimsy evidence and even flimsier excuses she had a way of becoming annoyed with him, with his theories, his innuendoes and silly sense of humor. Some days weren't all hearts and flowers, they would make each other crazy and couldn't stand the sight of the other, doors would slamm, harsh words flying between them, but it never was that seroius, that the morning light couldn't soften the sharp edges of the daggers in their eyes...  
"YOU'RE CRAZY MULDER"  
"I'M NOT! THE EVIDENCE IS THERE, YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE IT"  
"THERE'S NOTHING THERE TO SEE! It's a blurry photo and a questionable witness account in a rag magazine I saw you buy last night at a gas station! There is no case here!"  
"Like hell there isn't! I could get up right now and find you at least three similar cases in that bottom left hand drawer" he'd point in the direction of the filing cabinets, and after a brief pause she'd burst out laughing, because she knows what else is hidden in said drawer. He'd flush a slight pink and chuckle and like that the tension would disappear, they will be laughing together, wiping the tears.  
She'll take a sip of her cold coffee and grimace, he'll reach into the top desk drawer, a dark chili chocolate will appear between them.  
"Okay, time out" he'll say braking the bar into smaller pieces and offering it to her  
"Okay" she'll smile and take a piece and enjoy it in silence for a moment gathering her thoughts "let's go over those other cases in the morning" she'll suggest innocently "and talk about the other contents of that drawer. Are you ready to claim ownership Mulder?"  
"Never" he'll smile "but I'm ready to investigate, whenever you are"

They passed the threshold of his apartment, she was taking her coat off, he headed for the kitchen to leave the takeout dinner on the table. She brushed past him in the doorway, he's leaving to shed his coat, pulling at his tie with a smile. Years of working around each other translated easily into wordless routine of switching gears. He changed from his suit, she washed her hands and set the table, he came back and kissed her, something old-fashioned like a scene from an old movie. Eating together, sitting across from each other, sipping cool beer or light wine discussing news, plans, sometimes the case, or simply decompressing in a companionable silence. There were no rules here, no agreement to keep the professional separate from the private, no wall between them and the world. There was just them. If they needed space they gave each other space, if one needed comfort the other did their best to give that as well. If they wanted fun, they had fun. The point was to be there for each other, in every way.


End file.
